It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s … Sherman

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s … Sherman

Sherman Spencer is one of our favorite clients.

Sherman’s story starts on August 23, 2012, when he was driving on I-20 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman was traveling to his home in Morrow, Georgia when he collided with a van that was stopped in the right-hand travel lane. Sherman was moving at highway speeds at the time of the collision, and the impact to his vehicle was tremendous. Here is a picture of Sherman’s vehicle after the wreck:

The van Sherman collided with was also heavily damaged, but the van was unoccupied at the time of the collision. Other drivers who witnesses the accident called 911 and police and first-responders were dispatched to the scene. Upon their arrival, Sherman was suffering significant pain. Sherman was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where he received treatment. Doctors found Sherman had torn both of his rotator cuffs (shoulders) and needed surgery to repair one.

We took Sherman’s case and worked hard for him. We learned the van was a commercial vehicle owned by a large national company. One of the first things we wanted to know was why in the world would was the van stopped in the road and where was the driver at the time of the collision? We deposed the driver of the vehicle and learned that he had ran out of gas. So, at the time of the collision, the driver was walking down the road to find gas and no where near the van. Most importantly, though, we learned the driver had known for a week before the wreck that the vehicle’s gas gauge was broken. But, instead of fixing the gas gauge or finding a different vehicle to drive, the driver went on the road anyway. In the end, it was just a matter of time before the vehicle ran out of gas—unfortunately, Sherman was injured as a result.

We then flew to Cincinnati, Ohio to depose the company’s safety director. We wanted to ask the safety director why the company let an unsafe vehicle on the road. We also wanted to know what rules and policies the company had to make sure the 1,000s of vehicles it has on the road each day are safe. What we learned was shocking—the safety director did not even know the company’s policies and the company did not follow them.

After bringing out these “bad” facts for the company, we pushed the case forward and were able to successfully resolve Sherman’s case.

Throughout the collision, his surgery, and the case, Sherman remained positive. And now, just a few months later, Sherman sent us these pictures of him:

While Sherman may not be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings at a single bound… Sherman came pretty close to flying! If you want to hear Sherman’s story in his own words, click here. And if you want to hear what other clients have said about us, you can always visit our Testimonials & Results page.